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water neps with tray method

hey,

I've recently recieved some plants from BE and since they grow all their plants in cocofibre, i decided to pot all my plants with a similar mix.

My mix for all me neps right now is roughly 1:1:1 cocofibre, large pine bark and LFS

Since the only water retaining ingredient is the LFS, i'd be watering and misting it alot, sooo, i was thinking if i used the tray method the humidity will be kept up AND time watering will be saved. Do u guys think this is a good idea?

thanks,
wezx
 
The lfs is good enough for neps, it can hold 10 times its weight in water. If you are going to do the water tray method which I don't recommended, let the water evaporate before adding more.
 
I would also like to add that it depends on which neps. Neps like rafflesiana, bical and amps will respond much better than some others.
 
If your pots are <6-8", why don't you just go with LFS? It's perfectly suitable by itself and would require less frequent watering. For your larger pots you could add some orchid mix to prevent the LFS from compacting.

As for the humidity tray, if setup properly it shouldn't provide lots of water to your neps--the neps should be sitting above the water line. I wouldn't recommend using the tray method to water your neps unless you know whether the species tolerates it (e.g., N.ampullaria can sit in shallow water).
 
i got all but 3 in water trays

Nepenthes Higlanders (Grown outdoors):

1. Copelandii (mt apo)
2. Sanguinea (may be the orange but looks brown or rust)
3. Rajah
4. Maxima (Lowlander)
5. Truncata
6. Truncata (Lowlander)
7. Ventricosa
8. Faizaliana (True form)
9. ssp or x?
10. Bongso
11. Veitchii (L x H)
12. Burbidgea (looks red)
13. Spectabilis x Veitchii - i dont have this one no more...
14. Sibuyanensis
15. Sanguinea Red
16. Fusca (Crocker Range)
17. Alata (Large Peristome)
18. x 'Red Leopard'
19. Copelandii (mt pasian)?

Lowlanders (Grown Indoors)
1. Rafflesiana
2. Alata
3. Ventricosa (Red x Typical, seedling)
 
I vote NO. The only plants I would tray water for Nepenthes, would be N. bicalcarata and N. ampullaria.
 
Cocofibre breaks down super fast when constantly exposed to water. LFS tends to rot as well. It might work, but only for a while.
Best luck,
~Joe
 
ive done this for more than about 10 months... you do get algae though...
 
If you grow the plants indoors, you shouldn't need to use the tray system. Most of my Neps are grown on an open shelf under lights, and I only have to top-water once a week. If you are looking to boost humidity, the tray sytem won't help much.

The mix I use is very chunky (LFS, lava and/or granite chips, bark). It holds plenty of moisture.

Brian
 
  • #10
Thanks alot for the input guys. Does bark/lava/granite chips actually hold water? i thought they were just used to lighten the mix.
I've been told that cocofibre and LFS break down really quickly. I really don't feel the mix is water retaining enough... it looks bone dry to me even after watering. So, i think ill add more LFS and do top watering.

Ill also put my bical, amp and raff in one tray and tray water them together.

Thanks!
 
  • #11
Here's an alternative approach, one that I have borrowed from Elegecko & Capslock: Can you grow them in hanging baskets, by a window?
th_AF001501.jpg
th_AF001301.jpg


I would just have something under them to receive the drained water.
 
  • #12
I have poured water in the bottom of tanks the plants have sat in for ....many years and I have seen only one plant rot-it was in a tank next to a window and was getting weak light. As somebody mentioned, just enough water to cover the bottom.
Even though I have had success doing this, I hesitate to firmly recommend it to others. The majority go against this, and I assume they have seen problems first hand to doing this as opposed to simply regurgitating an "auto- response" to tray watering.
There are probably many variations to why something works for some and not others(compost, light, humidity,ect).

Cheers,

Joe
 
  • #14
Yes, Ill try both methods and see if there's any difference. I guess neps are quite adaptable to what's given to them.

wezx
 
  • #15
if you wanna use the tray method make sure that the pot is deep and try not place the neps roots too close to the bottom when you plant it. about .5 to 1 inch is fine. i know there are people who are reluctant to even try the water tray method but there are people such as peter himself that does this just to name someone.
 
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